Thursday, 28 August 2014

.... with this weeks post for ...Alsha's Space: 52 Weeks Word Photo Challenge .. but better late than never at all x lol xThe word for this week was BLUE... a good colour .. there are flowers and birds and the sky .. oh! The list is endless x I decided to show you a wall hanging that.. according to the label..

I made in 2006!! Now how did that get soooo long ago? lol x I used LOTS ofdifferent BLUE fabrics in this one ...

I also used lots of different embellishments xx

I had fun making it and playing with different fabrics and techniques .I didn't have a plan .. as usual x ..I just went with the flow xx He-He xDiane xx

Sunday, 24 August 2014

... I'm back already xx I forgot I was going to share some news with you !! The old grey cells you know !! lol xAs many of you will know ... because I don't let you forget!!.. my daughter is in Australia x Her partner is a member of the volunteer Fire Brigade .. and they have been organising a fund raising for leukaemia. Blair had LOOOOONNNNGGGG dreadlocks .. and a beard ... WELL he DID!!Yesterday .. as part of the event .. they were ALL shaved off! He alone ( between here and Australia ) raided $2000 !! The total for their unit is nearly $7,000 xIf you go to www.illawarramercury.com.au and click on the picture link ....he is the 3rd article along .....and you can see the transformation x I did not recognised him!! Looked a bit like Ragnor Lothbrook at one time !! (that's for VIKINGS fans .. they will understand xx lol x)Sally will need to tag him as I am sure she will lose the "new" Blair and not be able to describe him!! lol Diane x

Friday, 22 August 2014

... to say ... I AM A SWAP ADDICT!!!! lol x I don't think I will be going to a swap addicts anonymous meeting anytime soon x lol xI was sent an invite to join a Flikr Trick-Or-Treat-Halloween-Swap .. and while I was thinking ..should I ? I realised I had already partially filled the form in!! lol x .. OH! Well never mind xI managed to find a bit of fabric in my stash..

We are to make a little bag .. all the same size .. but in our own style x I had a go today .. inside ..

outside....

the suggestion was to tie a knot in the draw strings ... but WHY when a couple of beads makes it look good?..

I had fun making this ... and if it turns out my partner will prefer something different ? OHDEAR! I will have to keep this one .. and make another xx lol xWaiting for my partner now xxDiane x

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

... there must have been a time when I could not read .. but I can't remember it x I have always been an avid reader .. of ...well anything really x I DO like Science Fiction/fantasy .. but will give most things a try .... including non-fiction .. mm quilting books are pretty interesting xxWhen I was working it did sometimes slow down ... but the kids grew up with me "in" a book .. I can knit and read .. and wash up and read .. should I go on? lol xxSince I retired I have picked up again ... I have found and read some new stories ....and re read some old favourites xI have read and re-read Game Of Thrones since the first book .. copies are in tatters! ...

... the TV series has been such fun .. what have they kept .. what have they changed ? NOW the family are taking note and asking .. where is this going? lol xAnother I have returned to is ..

( don't know where my original copy is !! Had to buy a new one .. not complaining though x) ... just in time to find out they have made a series!!... OH YES!!.. so now I have another series to get involved with xx Not on in the UK yet .. but they had lottery funding and BBC input .. so soon I hope x In the mean time there is the Internet x... maybe be my name .. McClure .. but there is SOMETHING about a man in a kilt!! lol xI think it was reading and listening to them speak Gaelic that set me off ... I am a MEGA fan of ..

...this t-shirt is very old and washed out .. the concert was in Manchester in 1995 .. (GOSH THAT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME AGO!!) my mum and Sally were with me and we ALL stood on the chairs and sang our hearts out .. YES even my mother!! lol xI have been listening to ..

.....which sets me to missing Sally and having a GOOD OLD CRY xx Does us all good occasionally x I have MANY of their albums .. notice this is also somewhat tattered!.. but this one ALWAYS get to me!! lol x (you can find them on YouTube .. they sing in English too ... RUNRIG... x)Have a wonderful day x ..I'm going off to start re-reading Dragonfly In Amber .. next in the series xDiane x

Tuesday, 19 August 2014

... for August has been the Stash block .. there has been a delay because this months queen had a last minute family event. So ... here is my last swap for this month..

went in the post yesterday .I was given some blocks to make a Linus quilt ... (it is Sandbach Quilt Group charity for 2014 and they will be delivered later in the year x)....

I made them up into an alphabet quilt ..

and used the fleece I got in the sale at Abakhan for the back ..

some of the blocks are a real mixture of words .. not sure where she got them from .. OR how long she had them .. "maturing" !! .....

how many K words can you find? ... I got ... kangaroo .. kerchief .. kebab ..ketchup.. kettle .. kitchen I was struggling for a while until I realised that .. for some reason there is NO letter W !! I also used this In my daughters Facebook challenge page as the word for this month is ANIMAL ( www.facebook.com/groups/523396684453442 )It is pouring down here so .. off to sew I go xx Its a tough life being retired xx lol xDiane x

Monday, 18 August 2014

..... what I was going to post as my picture for Alsha's Space: 52 Weeks Word Photo Challenge this week. The word is HEAD xTHEN this morning while we were on our walk I stopped to say "hello" to a girl ( well she is older than me ! but still a girl!! lol ).. that I used to work with ..and in the space of that word Sam had ROLLED in SOMETHING!!! Joan thought it was hysterically funny ... but then she didn't have to walk home with a STINKING dog!!! Gus would not have anything to do with him! He kept trying to get away when Sam went anywhere near him!! lol WHAT A STINK!!!!!When we got home he was STRAIGHT in the bath!! .. phew!SO.. here is a HEAD...

...shot of a clean and fluffy dog! I don't think he is speaking to me! He-He xxMr innocence here ...

Saturday, 16 August 2014

.... of the swaps that I have sent out this month x For August the Brit Bee block was .. for me .. a set of 5 little flowers and some strips of fabric x The Queen for this month has a set of panels that she wanted us to make into either a square or oblong block... I decided that I would make 5 blocks ..

all the same so that they can be used throughout the finished project .This is my Christmas block that has gone to Australia ...

it looks a bit brown .. but it is a lovely deep red xxI joined in the Quilting Gallery summer swap and this morning I received my mug mats ...

I love them .. also the back of this one as we went camping ALL THE TIME when we were growing up x

We also had a little extra swap between ourselves and swapped .... a bag xx..

Thursday, 14 August 2014

... catching up with recent travels to day x They are in reverse order!.... just to keep you on your toes you know xx lol xYESTERDAY we went off to North Wales .. regular readers will know this is a BIG favourite with us x I wanted some fleece for backing and so .. off to Abakhan at Mostyn we went x( www.abakhan.co.uk ) I SWEAR I DIDNOT KNOW .. they had a 30% sale on!! I got my fleece..

and I bought some fabric...

COME ON .. there was a SALE!! lol x I also bought some wool for a later project..

THEN it was off to Prestatyn for dinner. It was quite warm .. and it did not rain BUT..

it was just a bit blustery xx Mum stocked up on supplies ... while dad and I had a cup of tea ..

About Me

I am a mother and grandmother,I have a son Adam who has a partner (Caroline)and 2 lovely sons, and I have a daughter Sally who moved to Australia with her partner Blair.....long way away.
I was a nurse who after 40 years found the escape route and RETIRED very happily x
I belong to 2 quilting groups and try to attend all thier meeting, as many workshops as I can and get involved with challenges and projects as they come along.